Dai Lo
by Gramnegative
Summary: What happened at Balalaika and Chang's first encounter. Why did both of them survive.


**Author Note:** This is my first attempt at a fan fiction. I hope you enjoy it. Much gratitude to Unkeptsecret without who this would have been a mess. :-) All characters are the property of Hiroe Rei.

Chapter 1 - Dai Lo

"Dai Lo, Dai Lo," someone shouted.

He was hearing the words, but none of them made sense. For some reason his vision seemed to keep blurring.

"He's bleeding out. We have to move him now," a voice said, followed by more shouting. "Bring the car around damn it! We can put him in the backseat and haul ass for the hospital."

It sounded like Biu behind him, but he couldn't be sure.

"What about the Russians?" another voice asked.

"Shut up," Biu snapped. "Quit worrying about the Russians, I think we chased them off. Now move your ass before I decide to put a cap in it."

More noise, maybe gunfire. He wasn't quite sure. Hell, he couldn't even remember where he was. He wanted to shout to Biu, find out what was happening, but his body refused to respond. Slowly, the blackness around the edge of his eyes seemed to be closing in. A face appeared in front of him. Biu was paler than normal, and fear was clear in his eyes. He didn't know what would frighten Biu so much. Normally, his lieutenant was more disciplined. Chang had never seen him like this. Even in the occasional gunfights, Biu was almost as calm as he was.

"Chang," Biu said, "We have to move you to the car now, please hang on."

Chang began to worry, Biu never used his name in public, not since they had both joined the 14K, six years ago. There was a pleading note in his voice that Chang didn't care for either. He would have to reprimand Biu later. Suddenly, Chang felt himself moving. His vision began to spiral around, stars, broken tables, crystal wine glasses, all seemed to be moving kaleidoscopically, then there was nothing.

24 Hours Earlier

The garage beneath Chang's office was quieter than usual. Normally, when he needed to meet with more than a few of his men, the garage was convenient, quiet and invisible to prying eyes. Fourteen of his blue lanterns stood around him, but most were looking at the 'packages' behind him. A truck had pulled up to the garage entrance 15 minutes ago and unceremoniously dumped them out.

"Dai Lo, what should we do?" The speaker was tall for a Han, with powerful broad shoulders. Chang stared at Biu in disbelief.

"What should we do?" Chang mimicked, pacing by the bodies. "Isn't it obvious? Nobody does this to the 14K and lives."

Chang felt like slapping Biu, but he restrained himself, forcing his arms to hang limply. In some ways he could sympathize with his lieutenant. Death was their stock and trade, but it had been a long time since either of them had seen this kind of carnage. Eleven bodies were neatly arrayed beside him. Ten of them had been so violently hacked to death as to be almost unrecognizable. Based on the gunshot wounds, Chang was suspicious that the hacking was done after they were dead, perhaps to send a message. The eleventh was still breathing, but given the nature of his wounds, Chang doubted he would last another hour. He pulled his raincoat out of the way and leaned down close to the still-living blue lantern, hoping he could get some useful information. He spoke calmly and quickly into the man's ear.

"Tony, tell me exactly what happened."

The wounded man's eyes flashed open in recognition. His voice had a moist, raspy sound, and blood bubbled from around the crude bandage on his chest.

"Dai Lo," Tony said. "We went to the warehouse, just as we were ordered, but ... they were waiting for us. We barely made it in the door when the cut us down. Please Dai Lo," he begged in a whisper, one hand clutching at Chang's leg. "Make it stop hurting."

"Soon, Tony, soon," Chang replied soothingly. "Biu will take you to Dr. Chiet and have you patched up, but I need you to tell me how this happened? How many of them were there?"

Chang was working hard to keep his voice under control. He couldn't afford to let the other blue lanterns see how much this irritated him. Failure always irritated him.

"I don't know," Tony replied. "I only saw two, but there had to have been more. The, the..blonde ... and the man ..."

Slowly, Tony's eyes began to close and the bloody froth from his chest became less and less noticeable.

"Biu," Chang said as he stood up, "have two men get him over to Dr. Chiet right now."

"But Dai Lo, he won't make it," Biu replied quietly.

Chang regarded him coolly, and keeping his voice low, he replied, "After this fiasco, we need to keep the men's spirits up. Sitting here and letting Tony bleed to death in front of them isn't my idea of a morale builder."

Biu began snapping orders to the men behind him. Had he simply gotten stupider Chang wondered or had the shock scattered his wits? Chang began to plan how he would sell this to Hong Kong. Losing eleven men, especially since some of them were Red Poles and 49ers, wasn't going to be well received. Only blood would wash this stain, Russian blood specifically.

It had only been a few weeks since Chang's intelligence network had brought him word about the newcomers in Roanapur. Apparently, someone in Vladivostok or Moscow had decide that the their current cut of the drug trade wasn't enough. His men reported 15 to 20 'Ivans' had rented a local warehouse and proceeded to set up shop. Discrete inquiries with Chief Watsup had discovered nothing in the last two weeks. That alone told Chang these men were not here on legitimate business. He supposed he could have talked to the local Mafia or Cartel heads, hoping they might know something, but that would display an embarrassing lack of knowledge, a sign of weakness the 14K couldn't afford. It had taken him the better part of two years to put those dagos and spics in their place, eating the Triad's table scraps. He wasn't about to show them anything they might take advantage of. Besides, if his people didn't know more, he doubted the other organizations would either. It bothered him though, sending 20 Caucasians into Roanapur was an amateur's mistake. It wasn't enough to be a real threat, but it was too many for them to blend in. Yet amateurs shouldn't have been able take out that many of his men so easily. Then again, maybe his men had inflicted serious casualties on the Russians, but, with his typical cynicism, Chang doubted it.

"Biu, how many Russians were in that warehouse when we hit them?" Chang asked.

Small droplets of sweat had begun to roll down Biu's cheeks. He refused to meet Chang's eyes. "I...I am not sure Dai Lo."

"What about the surveillance we set up? Couldn't they keep a simple count of comings and goings?" Chang demanded. "I told you to hit them when most of their men went out to the docks."

Chang's watchers had reported that each day, most of the Russians went down to a docked ship, the 'Marie Celeste' and spent the day there.

Biu's voice began to stumble, "Dai Lo, we lost contact with the surveillance team one hour before I sent the attack force in."

Even behind Chang's ever present sunglasses, Biu could see his eyes widen in anger.

"You lost contact with the surveillance team and you still sent in the other men?" Chang demanded. His voice began to take on a dangerous tone despite his best efforts to control it. "What in the name of god were you thinking?"

"But Dai Lo, they were some of our best men, I didn't think the Gwai Lo would be a problem. We should have been able to surprise them."

Chang cut him off. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe those Gwai Lo spotted your surveillance. That maybe you should have called off the attack?"

"But Dai.."

Chang waved a hand, silencing him. "Biu, I will handle this personally from here on in."

"Yes, Dai Lo - should I assemble more men?" Biu asked haltingly.

"No, I need more information before we move again," Chang replied. "Contact Hong Kong, I want every piece of intelligence we have on these Russians. You have two hours."

"At once, Dai Lo. What should I tell the men?"

Finally, Chang's frustration got the better of him. He walked up to Biu, almost touching face to face and nearly yelled, "Tell them to trust their Dai Lo, tell them we shall have vengeance, tell them you screwed up. Tell them anything, just make damn sure they know I am in charge. "

"Yes, Dai Lo," Biu replied, chastened.

.........................

Four hours later, Chang sat at his desk, sipping single malt scotch and wondering how he could take advantage of this new information.

"Are you certain they are led by a woman?" Chang asked, the doubt clear in his voice.

"Yes, Dai Lo," Biu replied. "Apparently, she and her men joined this 'Hotel Moscow' several years ago and have been a growing influence ever since. Hong Kong thinks they may be mercenaries."

_Hotel Moscow__. What__ a stupid name__,_ Chang thought. "Bui, you know that mercenaries sell by the gross in Russia. The term is almost meaningless. They are probably no better than our blue lanterns."

"As you say, but Hong Kong seemed convinced that these people were more dangerous than the other Russians we've encountered," Bui argued.

"Enough Bui," Chang said, trying to rub the kinks out of his neck. He promised himself a swim and a massage later today. "We know they are dangerous enough based on the ambush at the warehouse, but don't overestimate them either. That mistake is just as dangerous as underestimating an opponent."

"Yes Dai Lo," Biu replied, but the tone of doubt lingered.

Chang stood up, taking off his tie and moving to refill his glass. "You may be right," he admitted. "Perhaps we need to take a different tack with these 'Ivans'. Force failed, perhaps diplomacy will work."

"Diplomacy?" Biu asked, surprised.

For the first time that night, Chang smiled. "You need to read more. Diplomacy is just war by other means. Don't worry, these Gwai Lo will pay, blood for blood. I want you to send a message to this Hotel Moscow asking for a meeting at the Chun brother's warehouse. The one behind the Yellow Flag. Tomorrow, 12:30, four men each."

"Yes, Dai Lo," Biu replied, chastened. "Which three men should I take to the meeting?"

"Two men," Chang corrected. "You and two of our best go with me. I want to see these bastards with my own eyes."

"But Dai Lo...."

Chang cut him off, moving back towards his desk. "That's enough. I said I was taking personal charge of this. Besides, if they act up, I might have an opportunity to decapitate this snake before it starts to grow more heads."

Biu bowed in acquiescence and quickly left Chang's office.

As he sat back down Chang went over the situation again. He was still worried about how the Mafia and Cartel would react if they found out he had lost eleven of his men to these white-assed Russians. The need to take firm decisive action was overwhelming. But first, he needed time to make preparations, both for himself and his two dragons.

............................

Twelve hours later, Chang sat poolside, sipping his drink and trying to relax. Relaxation was always important prior to a battle, and he had no doubt there would be a battle. These Russians were too crude and barbaric for this to go any other way. Once he had disposed of their leadership in a fair fight, or at least as fair as it could be given his skills, he expected the Russians to withdraw. By this time tomorrow he could report to Hong Kong that the threat had been eliminated. Before he could consider the details more, he noticed Handsome Qin, a newly promoted Red Pole, approaching him with a package under his arm.

"What is it, Qin?" Chang asked, stretching out on the lounger.

"Dai Lo, " Qin replied. "This package was just delivered to our office. Bui thought you should see it immediately."

Chang sat up taking the package. It was a small gold colored box addressed simply in black ink. _To Bai Ji-Shin Chang from Hotel Moscow_. He looked at Qin over his sunglasses. Qin spoke quickly "We x-rayed the box at reception, Dai Lo. There is no metal inside."

"Good," Chang replied smiling, happy that his foresight had include such potential threats. When he opened the box, the first thing he saw was a fresh red carnation. Below that were two Polaroids, each one showing the hacked and battered body of one of his Blue Lanterns. Written on the back of one of the photos were the words: _Yacht Club. 10 PM_ .

"Well," Chang said to no one in particular. "At least we know what happened to our surveillance team." He looked at Qin, "Tell Biu the meeting location is changed. I want forty men stationed around the Yacht Club immediately. Cover every approach, no one gets in or out without his or my say so. Also, tell him to have the club searched and make sure the car and my men are ready by nine."

"Yes, Dai Lo, at once," Qin said, already moving toward the exit.

...........................

At 9 PM, Biu and two of the 14K's best Red Poles escorted Chang to his limo. He had already changed into one of his tuxedos. Like the rest of his clothes, he had it specially tailored, not just to fit perfectly, but because it allowed him to reach his twin dragons easily. Formal occasions were few and far between in Roanapur, but the occasional meeting with the local aristocracy called for it. Besides, the Yacht club was one of the few places in Roanapur that combined excellent food, live music and the kind of formal atmosphere he sometimes enjoyed. As he approached the car, an amusing thought crossed his mind. What would these white-assed barbarians be wearing to the Yacht club? The thought of three hulking Russians in ill fitting suits wandering around that elegant place was comical. He couldn't wait to see what their female leader was wearing, perhaps a miniskirt and combat boots This 'Hotel Moscow' undoubtedly lacked style or subtlety. Although he had to admit, the carnation they sent made a nice boutonniere. Stopping at the open car door , Chang pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Even before he put one to his lips, the nearest Red Pole had a lighter out, ready for him.

"Nice night for a massacre, isn't it Biu?" he asked, taking a slow puff.

Biu was startled, as much by the grin on Chang's face as the question.

"Relax." He laughed at Biu's obvious discomfiture. "Have you forgotten how much I enjoy 'field work'?"

"But is this wise, Dai Lo?" Biu said respectfully.

Chang let his laughter slowly die out before he answered. "Do you really think any of these Gwai Lo worry me?"

"Of course not, but what if they stage an ambush?"

Chang's smile widened. "You worry too much, our men are covering every approach. Besides, they may be white-asses, but they know the rules. Ambushing me after we asked for a meeting would mean war and not just here in Roanapur. Even their shit-for-brains masters would think hard before risking that kind of business disruption."

Characteristically, Chang thought more in terms of business than lives lost. The Triads could always raise more men, but business was money and money was power. That way of thinking had driven Chang quickly up the 14K's structure to one of the organization's most powerful roles outside of Hong Kong - the Heavenly King of South East Asia's most lucrative heroin trade. Another year or two successfully managing this business and Chang could move back to Hong Kong and into the Triad's inner circle. He had to congratulate himself, not bad work for a former cop turned lawyer.

Chang shook his head at the thought. One step at a time, one step at a time. First, he needed to present the Russians' heads to his masters, both to reaffirm his leadership and send a message to anyone else stupid enough to challenge him.

Moving smoothly into the car, Chang meditated quietly on how good it would feel to have the dragons in his hands again. How good it would be to deal death the way a skilled croupier dealt cards, only with more style. He would never admit it, but he loved to show off his skills in front of his men. It served to both inspire and control them. When he arrived in Roanapur, he had to put down an attempt by the Cosa Nostra to expand into his territory. When his men first saw his dragons they were confused. They had heard stories of his prowess, but they were only .22 caliber pistols. How could those inflict any real harm? Most of his men preferred the machismo of larger weapons, .45's and .44 magnums in particular. In his first gun battle, he had dispelled any doubts. His predatory skill had shown just how deadly two perfectly aimed .22 pistols could be. He took down six men in that day. The ten men with him accounted for a mere three. After that, there were no whispers doubting his prowess, not even behind closed doors.

As they pulled away from the office, Biu's cell phone began to ring. He spoke urgently for a few seconds, then turned towards Chang.

"Dai Lo?" he asked. "The Russians have reached the first checkpoint near the club. They brought four people in one limo. Should we stop them?"

"No need," Chang replied, adjusting the cuffs on his stylish shirt. "As long as none of their other people approach the club, this is exactly what I want." According to the hourly reports from his men at the scene, there had been no sign of any other Russians. "Besides, even if they try something, we outnumber them by a large margin."

As the car pulled up to the Yacht Club, Chang began to prepare himself for the coming encounter. His men smartly spilled from the limo as Biu opened the door for him.

Chang caught their eyes and spoke calmly. "No one moves without my word. You are my best, so if these Russians so much as look at me wrong, they all die."

His steadiness served to settle them as much as his words. As they moved down the pier and passed the Yacht Clubs marquee, it was obvious that the men he sent ahead had done their job. The club was empty except for the band, the staff, and four people at a table by the dance floor. The Maitre d' tried to remain calm as he greeted them, but his shaking hands gave lie to his appearance. From past visits Chang had come to appreciate Martin's combination of obsequiousness and excellent service.

"Welcome Mr. Chang," Martin greeted, his voice barely shaking. "How may we serve you tonight?"

"I will be joining some guests Martin," Chang replied. "Have a bottle of Cristal brought to the table." If nothing else, Chang thought, a good bottle of champagne could help him get through the crudeness of his opponents.

For once, Chang's sunglasses were an unwelcome distraction. The lighting at the club was set somewhat dimly to create a romantic atmosphere, making it hard to see the details of his opponents. However, it matched the singing coming from the young (and attractive) Thai woman on stage. Chang always enjoyed the live music here, and she was doing a credible job with some soft American 80's music. He would have to make sure the staff was well-tipped after this was over. Chang refused to remove his sunglasses though. Style was important to him, especially if he wanted to intimidate the Russians.

As they neared the table, Chang's vision adapted well enough for him to begin analyzing the situation. His emotions moved quickly from slight surprise to full blown shock. He had thought that Hotel Moscow's female leader might show up, but he wasn't sure. The three men positioned deferentially behind her were obvious body guards, nothing particularly special in that. The woman--no, he corrected, Amazon-- sat in profile to him wearing a ridiculously tight, slutty, strapless red dress that molded to her body like latex The side slit ran high enough for him to be assured she wasn't wearing lingerie. Her kind was normally only seen in men's magazines and young boy's fantasies. Aside from her well displayed charms, her hair was extraordinary. There must have been 120 cm of that golden silky mass trailing behind her. At first he thought she might be trying to ignore him. Then she turned to face him , rather than completing the beautiful profile, the right side of her face revealed a twisted nightmare of scar tissue. Even her right leg and arm showed scarring. Only her icy blue eyes seemed unaffected. Visions of some dark, mythological deity sprang to his mind.

"Welcome, Mr. Chang" she said in barely accented English. "I hope you like my choice of meeting locations. It seemed more appropriate than the dark, dank warehouse you suggested. Hotel Moscow would like to reassure that we are not the blond barbarians of your imagination."

Chang replied with a wide smile, almost a grin ""Good evening, but I am afraid you have me at a disadvantage Miss......?"

The blonde matched his smile "How disappointing. Here we are, touring around the streets of this fair city, and you haven't bothered to learn our names. Did you hear that, Boris?" she said tilting her head in the direction of her biggest gunman. "And I thought you told me the 14K were the masters here."

Her guard, a hulking, scared brute, replied in surprisingly good English, "Very disappointing, Kapitan."

Her words dripped sarcasm like acid, but Chang refused to be drawn out.

After a few moments of silence, she carried on. "Very well then, you may call me Balalaika."

For the first time in many years, Chang felt the sharp razor of fear in addition to his normal excitement. This was not going as he envisioned. He came to this meeting expecting to exert his dominance and gather information. If things went badly, he anticipated he could eliminate at least part of the threat at negligible risk to himself. After all, what threat could these people offer? They were surrounded on three sides by buildings filled with his men and water on the other. Additionally, they were massively outnumbered, not that Chang needed the help. But this woman exuded an aura of confidence and threat that he almost never encountered. He began to wonder if it was a good idea for him to have come here. He quickly threw off the thought. This was his territory. He controlled things here; he called the shots. No blond Russian bitch was going to threaten the Heavenly King, no matter how confident she might be.

Before he replied he looked over the Russians one last time. Each of the men had the eyes of seasoned gunmen, with characteristic bulges under their left armpits. Even the woman was probably armed, perhaps a pistol under the table, but she was a minor threat at best. She might be their leader, certainly she had the presence for it, but he had only ever met one decent woman gunman, and he had personally trained her for nearly a year. Besides, the Russian Mafia, like the Triads, wasn't known for keeping women in its ranks. No, if it came to shooting, he would neutralize the big one first, then the other two guards, then the woman.

"Interesting name, Miss... Balalaika, but I haven't come here to discuss Russian folk music. What are you doing in my city?" he demanded.

"Your city?" she said with a lilt in her voice. Chang swore her smile was getting bigger and more feral. Even her eyes seemed to be shining more brightly. "Well, I am afraid that might be a problem. You see we at Hotel Moscow aren't used to sharing. Of course, should you see fit to resolve this problem by removing yourself and your men, we could save ourselves a great deal of trouble."

The band had begun to play a soft and romantic song that Chang liked called "Blue World" and suddenly, he felt reassured. This woman's confidence was obviously misplaced. She was a fool, one who probably reached her position based on disturbing physical charms and animal cunning rather than true skill and intelligence. As he finally began to relax, he heard the sudden roar of marine engines at the water, followed by a loud bang and the sound of boots hitting the dock. For only a moment, he and his men twisted their heads in the direction of the sound. Chang turned back to the woman just in time to see her bring up a pistol of some sort. Then, he finally understood, Biu had been right, this was an ambush, a suicidal one for the Russians, but still an ambush. These arrogant maniacs actually thought they could kill him. Even as he completed that thought his hands had already drawn his dragons from their holsters.

....................

From the moment he opened his mouth, Balalaika felt only anger and disappointment. This strutting, arrogant, sunglass wearing jackass was the Dai Lo! He was so overly confident in the number of men he had surrounding her. It probably never occurred to him assaults could come from the sea and air as well as the land.

But she was used to disappointment. Ever since her failure in Afghanistan, she had realized that her road to redemption would be a long and hard journey. In truth, she rarely encountered any gangster whose skills rose above that of street thug. No match for her talents and training. She had actually hoped this man might be somewhat of a challenge. Certainly Hotel Moscow's intelligence reports described him as a highly skilled gunmen, but two pistols and .22's at that? What a demented joke. It must be true, she thought, give a man a gun and he thinks he's tough. Give him two, and he thinks he's God. Well, this was one deity that was about to discover he was mortal. She was amused at the thought. Perhaps after this, they could refer to her as god slayer. She needed no time to analyze the situation. Based on their positions, she would eliminate the 'heavenly king' first and then the lieutenant close by his side. Boris and her guards could take out the other two gunmen. Her Visotoniki approaching the dock would then quickly pin down the men in the surrounding buildings while a squad of heliborne troops dropped behind them.

When Chang turned his attention towards the dock, she brought her Stechkin up, wanting only to end this charade with a few well placed bullets. Even as she completed the motion she saw Chang's hands moving like serpents for his guns and for the first time in weeks, she felt a bolt of pleasure drive up her spine. _His speed_, it was incredible. Despite her carefully orchestrated distraction, Chang's weapons had cleared their holsters and were already lining up on her and her men. She immediately stroked the trigger of her Stechkin on full auto, but Chang was already out of his chair and moving. Rather than exploding that pretty boy head of his, she only managed to put two rounds into his left shoulder.

_His speed_, she marveled. Perhaps this Chang was a worthy opponent.

.............................

When Chang began his desperate move, his men tried (and failed, of course,) to copy him. Chang was raging at himself. He had allowed this Russian psychopath to trap him. Even before he could fire, he felt an explosion of pain in his left shoulder, forcing him to drop the weapon in that hand. Still, he had avoided death and now it was the Russian's turn to learn why everyone in Roanapur feared him. As he threw himself out of her line of fire, her fiery blue eyes were glowing with excitement. His first three shots were direct to her torso, throwing her back. With her eliminated, he moved his sights to the two Russians at her left, killing one of them immediately with two head shots. The second Russian was diving to cover and from the corner of his eye, he could see Boris being engaged by Biu.

Despite his recovery, Chang knew he was still in serious danger. He could hear automatic gunfire being exchanged between his men in the buildings and the Russians at the dock. He had eliminated two of the Russians, but had only succeeded in pinning down the third. His wounds didn't seem life threatening, but if he didn't get off the dock soon, he was in serious trouble. Chang spared a quick glance over his right shoulder to see how Biu was doing. He was just in time to again make eye contact again with Balalaika. For a microsecond, the shock froze him. She should be dead or dying on the ground, not standing up and calmly aiming at his head. For some insane reason, she seemed to be happy.

............................

When Chang's first rounds had thrown her back, Balalaika felt a wonderful combination of warm joy and icy laughter. He really was using .22s. He actually thought such toy rounds could stop her, the veteran of uncounted battlefields in Afghanistan? What an arrogant fool he was. The pain was a wisp. She felt more agony applying balm to her scars every morning. The blood loss was another matter. Chang was using hollow points and although he seemed to have missed anything vital, the front of her dress was already a much deeper red, soaked with blood. She used her free had to staunch the worst of the flow, while quickly levering herself up with her gun hand. She had to take this man down fast or more of her men might die. Boris was already behind cover and dueling Chang's lieutenant to a standoff. Chang's other two men were down, but fire from the surrounding buildings had begun to pepper her position. Perhaps the 14k was better prepared than she thought. Additionally, the gunship carrying the second squad had yet to arrive. All in all not a good showing for her side. Such thoughts were washed away though, even Boris' worried shout of 'Kapitan' as he saw her wounds, could barely penetrate the curtain of joy surrounding her. The site picture was perfect, Chang's elegant profile lined up for the kill shot. But as she squeezed the Stechkin's trigger, a strange thought came over her and for reasons even she could not explain she jerked her aim down, placing two rounds into Chang's chest rather than his head. For a split second Chang's speed made him seem almost worthy of her attention and she just couldn't bring herself to destroy that...yet. As she began to turn towards her remaining opponents, she saw Boris, dear comrade Boris vault over a table at a dead sprint towards her. As blood loss began to cloud her vision, she wondered why he wasn't finishing off Chang's lieutenant. But before she could fall, he had wrapped his arms around her waist and without breaking stride began moving her towards the boat.

Chapter 2 - The Hospital

At first, the dream seemed pleasant.

Chang was looking down at Roanapur from his office widow, surveying his domain over a glass of fine cognac. But the landscape began to change, suddenly the room was awash in flames. He was trapped by the window. A hellish landscape of volcanic ash and screams had replaced the city. Each intake of breath was burning agony, his throat was on fire. Then, behind him, he heard that icy laughter. He spun around and there she was, a handspan away. She was nude, covered in bright red blood, her right side was a dead mass of blackened flesh, terrifying him. Her left side was that of a beautiful woman, arousing a strange and disturbing desire within.

He awoke choking, screaming and tried to sit up. Hands grabbed his shoulders, and he heard voices telling him to calm down. He couldn't open his eyes. Why couldn't he open his eyes? For a second, he feared he was dead and that coins were keeping his eyes shut. Then feeling began to return, followed by a dull agony on his right side. He felt hands moving gently over his eyes pulling something away, surgical tape. When he could open his eyes, he saw fluorescent lights and white garbed nurses.

One of the nurses said, "Sir, you have a trach tube in your throat. Don't try to speak yet. We will remove it in a minute."

He tried to relax, but he couldn't breathe. Quickly, they began to pull the tube out, and as it left, breathing became painful, but no longer impossible. He could see the nurse putting a syringe into his IV tube. As she pushed the plunger, a wash of cool relief moved outward into this body. For a minute he could only lay there, enjoying the absence of pain. Biu's worried face moved into his field of vision. He tried to speak, but no sound came out. So as Biu leaned closer he mouthed the words, "What happened?"

Biu replied slowly, "Dai Lo, they had to remove four rounds. You will need to rest here for several days. I have bribed the staff and stationed guards throughout the hallways."

For the first time since he awoke, Chang felt a little safer.

He tried again, "The Russians?"

Biu looked distinctly uncomfortable, so Chang tried to reach out to him, but only succeeded in moving his hand slightly.

Biu began, "Dai Lo, that devil woman and her guard made it out.'' Then he paused before starting again, "They are on the floor above us."

Biu must have seen Chang's eyes widen. He wanted to be nowhere near that nightmare woman.

"Don't worry, Dai Lo. That bitch's guard is more concerned about her safety than trying to kill us again. We have struck a truce for now."

Somehow, Chang did not feel comforted, but slowly, despite his struggles, he felt sleep stealing up on him again. His last thought was wondering, if he dreamed of her again, would it be with fear or desire.

..........

For the first time since they had served together in Afghanistan, Balalaika was raging inside at her senior sergeant. She had woken up in a hospital room and Boris had immediately explained the situation. It taken her almost 30 seconds to absorb the news and when she spoke, her voice was deceptively calm.

"I see...I see... So comrade sergeant," she began. "After I was incapacitated, your tactical evaluation of the situation led you to withdraw our forces from the battlefield. This despite the fact that we had only five casualties and the gunship had just arrived on the scene.

Boris stood at attention stoically, replying in an emotionless voice, "Yes, Kapitan. The fire from the surrounding buildings was much higher than we anticipated. Additionally, the gunship suffered an unfortunate failure of its fire control system rendering it's weapons useless. I judged that activating one of our contingency plans was the prudent course of action."

Balalaika continued, not believing a word of it, "Then you decided to evacuate myself and the other two wounded using the gunship?"

"Yes, Kapitan. It was an efficient way to utilize our resources. I also redeployed our forces per contingency plan Beta. We now control the entire area around the Western District. The battle line is currently halted at objective Tango and we are conducting cleanup operations in our rear areas."

"What about the Triad and other possible opponents?" she asked.

"Triad forces have deployed in numbers 30% greater than anticipated. However, they have not made any aggressive moves towards our positions. Instead they have taken up defensive positions around objectives Kilo, Yankee and Delta. The Cartel has refused to meet with us and has also taken a defensive posture. The Cosa Nostra leadership has agreed to meet with us as soon as you are recovered."

"I am recovered now Sergeant," she snapped, sitting up and slowly swinging her legs off the bed. Boris frowned, but knew better than to say anything. She continued, "At least we have achieved all primary objectives."

"Kapitan."

His tone caught her attention, "Yes Boris?"

He continued, "All primary objectives were achieved except objective number four. He is currently on the third floor below us."

Balalaika stared at the floor for a moment, wondering if her legs truly had the strength for her to stand up. The pain was bearable, but the anesthesia had left her shaky, not that she would let any of her men see it. But that was not why she was hiding her face, she didn't want Boris to see the small smile that briefly lit across it when she heard objective number four, Chang's assassination, had failed. Ever since Afghanistan, she had been searching for that one opponent that could cleanse the stain of her failure. Meeting the first potential candidate in Roanapur could not have been predicted. The irony that he was her polar opposite-- an arrogant, slant-eyed, pretty boy gangster-- was not lost on her. Still, he was only a potential candidate, and fate had not been kind to her.

"Sergeant," she said.

"Yes, Kapitan," he replied.

"I want an immediate meeting of the senior squad leaders," she said leaning back onto the bed. "You have eight hours to develop three new operational plans to continue our offensive in the city. We have lost the initiative and I intend to regain it immediately. Also, set up an encrypted link to Vladivostok. I want to speak to Vor Piotr as soon as possible."

The frown left Boris' face when he saw the Kapitan recline back onto the bed. After all, it was a senior sergeant's duty to ensure the well being of his officers.

"Of course, Kapitan," he said moving towards the door.

"Comrade sergeant?"

Something in her tone stopped him in his tracks. "Yes Kapitan?" he replied turning his head.

She spoke slowly, staring at the ceiling. "When I was a young lieutenant leading my first platoon, you taught me an invaluable lesson. Never give an order that you know will not be obeyed."

"I remember Kapitan," he replied.

"This will never happen again. Are we clear, Boris?" She said, still staring at the ceiling.

"Yes Kapitan," Boris replied, relief evident in his voice for the first time.

.....................

When Chang woke up again, he felt distinctly better. His chest still hurt like hell, but he could breathe without agony. Biu was still in his room, but when he saw Chang move, he sprang up and grabbed a cup from the bedside.

Before Chang could say anything, Biu was speaking, "Dai Lo, please drink. Small sips, then we can talk."

The water felt good on his throat, but before he could take more than a few sips, Biu took the cup away.

"Dai Lo," he began, "you must recover quickly. I can't put Hong Kong off much longer. They are demanding to know what is going on."

Chang's voice sound like sandpaper dragged across a wall. "What is going on?" he finally ground out.

"Things are calm, but..." he paused, then quickly spat out the words. "This Hotel Moscow has moved in another 40 gunmen at least. They have completely taken over the Western District."

"How..." Chang began.

"They a have allied with the Cosa Nostra, the bastards. The Cartel is working with us for now to contain them, but I fear they are like a tick, dug too deeply in our side to easily remove."

Chang gave up trying to speak, his head flopping weakly into his pillow. Hong Kong would never accept this. He would be lucky to escape with his life. Slowly, despair, darkness and his nightmares began to claim him again.

...................

When Boris returned from the staff meeting, Balalaika was awake and speaking on the encrypted military radio they had brought in. He stood discretely by the door, but from Balalaika's tone, she was not happy. When the conversation had finished, she set down the handset and switched off the radio.

"Comrade sergeant, report!" she snapped.

He handed her three folders and said "Here are the three contingency plans you requested. The men are standing by. All units have been fully resupplied and can begin operations within one hour."

Boris handed her a fourth folder. "Additionally, I have prepared a scenario for a surgical strike into the hospital to eliminate objective number four."

"That won't be necessary sergeant. Vor Piotr feels that further offensive operations would be counterproductive. Apparently, the 14K in Hong Kong have threatened war, and he wants me to use our current position to negotiate a truce. Our new objective is to obtain a 30% stake in the heroin trade through Roanapur." She spat the words out as if they disgusted her, which they did. Negotiations like this left her feeling dirty.

..........

When he awoke again, Biu was sleeping on a chair across from him. Chang wondered if he looked as bad as Biu. From the smell, it seemed Bui hadn't left the room to shower in several days. Chang appreciated that kind of loyalty, even if he couldn't really fathom it. He tried to sit up. His chest still hurt, but he could move now. His hands fumbled around until he found the control for the bed and adjusted it to a sitting position. Biu awoke about the same time, yawning widely.

"Well, Biu, has Hong Kong sent my replacement yet?"

Biu started at the sound of Chang's voice. "No, Dai Lo, but they have demanded to speak with you immediately. I have set up a secure phone line to this room. We can call them when you are ready."

Biu looked downcast. He was no fool; he realized that any decision from Hong Kong was likely bad news for Chang.

An urgent knocking started at the door. Biu moved up, drawing his pistol and cracked open the door. Chang could hear urgent whispering, but couldn't understand it. When Biu turned towards him, his eyes were wide.

"Dai Lo, you have a ...visitor."

Then Chang could hear the arguing in English outside.

In a deep but definitely female voice: "I will enter alone and unarmed. Get in my way again and I will strangle you with my bare hands."

Chang didn't know whether he should make a break for the window, or try to hide under the bed. Finally he decided that either was too undignified. If this Balalaika was willing to visit him alone and unarmed, he could at least receive her. If nothing else, he had to admire the woman's balls. As the door opened his estimation of her went up a notch. When he had recapped the gunfight in his mind, he had wondered if somehow, unlikely as it seemed, he could have missed. However, even under the hospital gown, he could see her abdomen was swathed in bandages, and she was holding her arm across it tightly. She moved slowly, but otherwise her aura of confidence seemed intact. Her other hand was dragging a wheeled stand with several different IV bags on it. Amazingly, she showed no other outward signs of pain, so he made a point of grinning as happily as he could and hiding his own. Even as depressed as he was, facing almost certain destruction at the hands of his own masters, he refused so show weakness. It was simply beneath him.

"So Miss Balalaika, you're harder to kill than I thought. What brings you to visit? Perhaps you could help the nurses give me a sponge bath?"

Despite his efforts to goad her, she showed no signs of anger. For a second his thoughts and his eyes wandered. Even in the hospital gown with that military overcoat, her curves were impressive. Her right leg was covered in the same scar tissue as her face, but her left leg was pure silk. Still, it was that golden hair that attracted his attention most. As his eyes returned to hers he sensed her amusement. _That Bitch,_ he thought,_ has she read my mind__?_

Before he could speak again, she cut in. "Hotel Moscow has decided that further hostilities would be meaningless and wasteful. Instead, we would like to discuss terms of a mutually beneficial truce."

Chang felt a sudden surge of hope. If he could offer his masters in Hong Kong a deal that minimized the damage, perhaps he might survive this after all. Unfortunately, the monitors he was hooked up to showed her his accelerated heart rate. As he looked into those oh-so blue eyes, he sensed her increasing amusement and that could not be tolerated. He had to regain control of the situation.

"Biu," he said, "bring over a chair for Miss Balalaika and let us have a little privacy to discuss this."

However, as Biu was leaving the room, Chang announced in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone in the hall, "Ok, Fry Face, let's hear what you have to say."

The End


End file.
